The Hands that Move the World

Chaos Gear

One of three powerful artifacts needed for the creation of the Staff of Three Dragons. Takes the form of a star-shaped item that feels at once cold and hot to the touch.

Description:

4th Edition

The Chaos Gear is an artifact which occupies the neck slot (when used in this manner, it hovers above the wearer’s chest, twitching and spinning erratically). It conveys a +6 bonus to non-AC defenses and an assortment of powers depending on the wearer’s attunement.

5th Edition

Known Powers

Altering space and the laws of physics in a local area, “used” by the Winter Queen.

Folding space to connect great distances, used by Raveth Funa’koshe.

Bio:

The Chaos Gear — often known by its older name, the Star of Chaos — takes the form of an eight-pointed star, or a set of radial spokes resembling a gear, with an eye in the center that appears to be constantly glancing about. The Chaos Gear simultaneously feels extremely hot and cold when touched directly. It is rumored it contains a fraction of the essence of Khyber, the Dragon Below.

Independently, the Chaos Gear grants a variety of chaotic powers to its user. When activated by The Winter Queen it conferred all sorts of random effects, including the re-sizing of the room and creatures in it, healing and wounding at random, teleportation, and more.

History

As with the other components of the Staff of Three Dragons, the origin of the Chaos Gear is unknown, but ancient, said to be a weapon created shortly after the dawn of the world and imbued with the essence of Khyber, the Dragon Below. It has been at the heart of many events that seemed to move against expectations or probabilities, not the least of which was the Day of Mourning, which involved a Reunion of the Staff of Three Dragons.

The Eclipse Collective was hired by Remelius Artauche to retrieve it, and they defeated the Winter Queen to take it, but were betrayed when Malavarn, an elite agent of Artauche, tried to kill them and take the artifact. They fought Malavarn and put the artifacts in the hand of Talbot, Artauche’s other elite agent and secret member of an unnamed faction.

Apparently, Talbot also lost the Chaos Gear when it suddenly became unstable, and it cropped up again tied to Raveth Funa’Koshe once again. He gave a box to Iadoes Lunaformer which contained the Gear, and ultimately bound it to Iadoes’ fortunes, causing it to reappear and vanish sporadically. When Iadoes was killed, Zil’dejin took the gear.

Later, in an effort to stabilize the Chaos Gear (formerly called the Star of Chaos), Zitholt, a monk of Sanzerathad, used the power stored in the soul battery of Zenzatun. With the help of his monks, the Gear was successfully stabilized, and the Eclipse Collective gave it to the monks for safekeeping. They apparently lost it to the Dark Sides of Iadoes Lunaformer, who somehow merged together again, gained it back, and tried to attack Grey Titan’s Hold. They were stopped quickly, and sealed in a bottle until the same bottle was used in a ritual to counterbalance the Rod of Order in a ritual to weaken Zenza and Suhnen. The bottle went missing, and the two Iadoeses were later seen fighting over the Star of Chaos in the soul-mist of White Mountain.

Known Previous Owners

The Dark Sides of Iadoes Lunaformer, the evil and mad components of him that survived him in death, acquired it somehow until they were sealed in a bottle by Kaleth. The Iadoeses were freed during a ritual to weaken the atropals Zenza and Suhnen, but the fate of the Star is not known beyond this point.

The monks of Sanzerathad regained it again in 1001 YK, but are believed to have been attacked by the Dark Sides of Iadoes.